Cattle and hogs are typically slaughtered at a packing plant. When the animals are slaughtered, various parts of the animal are removed, with the removal occurring along an assembly line. Eventually a carcass remains, which will then be butchered to provide cuts of meat for human consumption. Typically, the carcasses are sold to butcher shops where a butcher will then carve up the carcass to produce the various cuts of meat. In order to ship the carcasses, it is necessary to cool them to a temperature just above freezing. The cooling process is accomplished in a large refrigeration unit whereby the carcasses are mounted on meat hooks attached to conveyors. The carcasses are attached to the meat hooks and then conveyed into the refrigeration unit. Once located in the refrigeration unit, there is typically a total of at least 60 carcasses held by the conveyor lines. As such, the refrigeration unit is a large room that is typically at least 120 feet long. Hot box cooling units suspended from the ceiling in the refrigeration unit, and located near a side wall, are used to cool air which in turn lowers the temperature of the carcasses.
A typical refrigeration unit will be 120 feet by 48 feet, with the unit containing 6 hot box units. The hot box units include a cooling member or refrigeration unit, and three to 4 fan members attached thereto, so that as air is cooled the fan blows the cold air away from the hot box unit causing the air to circulate and cool the carcasses. As the carcasses are being cooled by the chilled air, water or mist is sprayed onto the carcasses to prevent dehydration of the meat. The heat of the carcasses causes some of the water to evaporate. The evaporated water is then conveyed throughout the refrigeration unit by the circulating air. As such, some of the water will condense and collect on the ceiling of the refrigeration unit.
The circulated air in the refrigeration unit generally follows one of two pathways. As the air is blown away from the hot box unit, it will follow a circular course whereby the air moves outward and down over the carcasses and back to the hot box unit, or the air follows an alternative circular course where the air moves out away from the hot box unit, up towards the ceiling and back to the hot box unit. The upward movement of the air results in some of the water vapor collecting on the ceiling.
As the moisture continues to collect on the ceiling, eventually a sufficient amount of moisture will accumulate, and the water will begin to drip. As the water drips, it will contact the piping and other structures located in the refrigeration unit above the carcasses. Generally, the piping and other structures are rusty, or at least slightly oxidized, so that as the drippings contact these structures, the water becomes contaminated. The contaminated water then continues its downward course so that the drippings will contact the carcasses. If the drippings, which are contaminated, contact the carcasses, contamination of the carcasses occurs, and they become unsaleable. As a result of contamination, meat inspectors for the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) often force the closing of the refrigeration unit to eliminate condensation. This is expensive and very costly to the owners of the meat packing plant, because production lines are effectively shut down. Thus, it is desired to have a device or method which prevents water from readily condensing on the ceiling of the refrigeration unit and, more particularly, the formation of water drippings that are contaminated.
Another problem associated with the collection of moisture on the refrigeration unit ceiling is that to prevent such formation, it is often necessary to blow the cooled air at a reduced velocity. Faster air flow results in rapid cooling, which increases the water vaporization rate. This will, in turn, cause increased condensation, thereby increasing the likelihood of the refrigeration unit being closed. Thus, the traditional practice has been to slowly cool the carcasses to prevent condensation formation on the ceiling. Typically, the carcasses will occupy the refrigeration unit for approximately 48 hours. Such a long occupation time increases costs because space is occupied for a longer period of time, and more energy is required to cool the carcasses for such a long period of time. As such, it is preferred if the cooling time for the carcasses is reduced.
Thus, it is desired to have a method or device which prevents the formation or at least significantly decreases the formation of condensation on the ceiling of the refrigeration unit. It is additionally preferred to have a method or device which can cool the carcasses in a shorter period of time.